In May of 2012, I had the great experience of living in Ireland for 6 weeks while taking art classes through SUNY Cortland. I spent most of my time in the sleepy sea town of Dingle, County Kerry- which is located in the most Western tip of Ireland. The locals say that they are so far west that the next closest pub is in Boston. There were 12 of us from the SUNY system of school, most of them from the middle of the state- Cortland, Binghamton, and Ithaca.

Being in another country was an adventure in of itself, but the addition of being able to learn how to oil paint was a whole different level of challenge and excitement. I had a small base of knowledge in art form my high school years, and in my own personal pursuits outside of school, but no formal training whatsoever. This was my first hurdle in Ireland. My roommate, Amanda, and I were the only students coming in without being in the middle of an art program. The assistant professor, a prominent experiential oil painter, Jaime, was more or less assigned to baby sit her and I through the process, and I am very grateful that he had the patient nature and kindness to help us. We started the program working on basic drawing skills, value scales and the like (very much like what we do in Visual Imagination here at UB!) and then we were allowed to start to oil paint. Amanda and I had to take a few extra days to learn the basic techniques of the medium, but pretty soon we were out with the rest of the students painting the landscapes. We went from basic value scale pallets to full color in about 3 weeks of work. Looking back, I wish that we had the whole summer to work up to color, just like we get a full semester in VI to get from basic principles and elements to working in colors. Also- the main professor was a huge proponent of the landscape painting, so that is the only thing we were really allowed to do.

In hindsight, I learned a lot about design and art through this trip. Many things, like how to actually paint and draw a bit better, I expected to take away from all of it. Some things that I didn’t expect to learn. Like the value of open-mindedness and how to take constructive criticism. And how to not let yourself get absorbed in what you are creating, and to take the time to really allow yourself to experience the world around you.One thing that workng soley on art for over a month really showed me was that I need to have a variety of ways that I express myself creativly. I found myself getting stuck and frsutrated very easily when I was painiting the same thing over and over again. That is what I love so much about theatre, and all art, is that you can focus on one thing as your intended “life’s work” but you can also have your hand and creative idea in any and every part of a project.

I will be posting a full photo blog after this one to show everyone the land and the art that I experienced in Ireland. I can’t wait to go back!